When it comes to the presidential election, I feel like a little kid in the back seat of the family car heading toward Disneyland.
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Nov. 4 can’t get here fast enough for me. I cannot wait to see who the next president of the United States is going to be.
But I don’t want to know the winner of the McCain/Obama race just because I’m ardently supporting a candidate. I want to know the winner because it will mean the entire circus will be over. Finally.
I’m sick of the election.
The election cycle has been in full swing for over a year now, and I’m burned out on the whole idea.
News about the election takes over everything: newspapers, magazines, Internet, television, people’s yards, people’s conversations.
There are several good reasons for my burnout.
One is the fact that I vote in Oklahoma almost guarantees that my electoral votes will go to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., regardless of whom I actually vote for.
Voting is almost a moot point in Oklahoma.
If you look at a color-coordinated party map, our state is so red it practically glows.
Democratic votes will cancele Republican votes.
Individual votes really don’t matter all that much.
Until America adopts a popular vote system instead of an electoral vote system, feeling like your vote means something in Oklahoma is humorous at best.
I think that if I were able to go to a rally or an event where either candidate was speaking, I might be more passionate about the election.
But due to the fact that our state glows a certain color, candidates don’t visit here. They don’t run ads here. They don’t even attempt to campaign here.
Oklahoma doesn’t exist in Illinois Democrat Sen. Barack Obama’s mind, and McCain thinks about it only when he’s counting up his secure electoral votes.
Not only do individual Oklahomans’ votes mean nothing, Oklahomans themselves mean nothing to the candidates.
All this news I’m being inundated with? None of it pertains to me. Not one bit.
I don’t live in a battleground state, and I’m not being indecisive about whom to vote for.
And really, are there truly any of these indecisive people left?
With all the media coverage of this election, I feel like anyone who hasn’t chosen a side yet is stubborn, lazy or living under a rock. Maybe all three.
I wish we could shorten the election process.
If we moved the primaries back to eliminate the long summer months of nothing but incessant stumping, things would be more tolerable.
Chopping two or three months off this process would be amazing.
The way we currently have it, the media’s been at fever pitch since about August of last year.
This is entirely too long, especially for states that don’t get much attention or have much power.
The ultimate fix, like I stated previously, would be to have a popular vote system in which my vote actually would matter. But, alas, it really doesn’t.
There will be a president chosen on Nov. 4 Hopefully. I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t have drama like there was in 2000.
I don’t know who the winner will be, but I do know that we finally will be able to stop hearing about the thing for (maybe) three years.
I’ll rejoice for the cessation of campaigning more than I’ll rejoice for my candidate if he wins.
Stephen Carradini is a professional writing junior. His column appears every other Thursday.
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T_Money 3 years, 7 months ago
I totally agree with you but for different reasons. The two party system is a joke, especially when there is really no disagreement on the issues. Both parties agree on about 80% of the issues. Also, I am tired of people writing off other's arguments because they are a republican or democrat. Why cant people be free thinkers and make up their own mind on issues instead of making choices because that is what their party believes?
fustigate 3 years, 7 months ago
I was tired of the campaigns last November. And that's a better staff picture, Stephen. :-)
thegradeinflater 3 years, 7 months ago
I agree with you on the main points. The campaigns and the media coverage are reaching irritating levels. And OK is so red and that means we are totally ignored & forgotten by both candidates. However, as one dear friend told me, we need to vote so that there will be a number after Nov 4, a number stating there is a blue component in this state and that it is actually growing.
TheMilkman89 3 years, 7 months ago
The electoral vote has disagreed with the popular vote TWICE in over two hundred years.
Why anyone complains about it beats me.